


Red Sweater

by Mhalachai



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Ghost Stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-16 06:52:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12337689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mhalachai/pseuds/Mhalachai
Summary: It's Halloween, and ghosts never show up the way they're supposed to.





	Red Sweater

* * *

Alex followed his friend Marek down the trolley steps, batting away a length of fake spider webbing as he stepped out into the rain. "Told you that would be fun."

Marek bent his head against the scattered droplets. "That was forty bucks to hear a dumb history lesson," he muttered, making a beeline for the shelter of the tourist booth. Behind them, the rest of the haunted trolley tour's participants were disembarking in a rowdy mass, some heading for the nearby hotel's taxi bank, while others wandered in the direction of the convention centre pub. "This is the last time I let you plan anything."

"It was fun," Alex protested.

"That's because you're a nerd."

"Am not." Alex looked around. The rest of the passengers had dispersed, the trolley guides getting ready for the last tour of the night. The only person left from their tour was the young woman in the red sweater, who had sat on her own at the back of the trolley all night. "Hey," Alex said, raising his voice a little. "You thought the tour was fun, right?"

The woman turned her head. "Yeah, it was neat," she said, drifting in their direction. The light rain didn't seem to bother her at all. A local, Alex diagnosed. "But I thought they would do more in the park, not just drive around. It didn't feel all that haunted."

"That's what this guy said." Alex elbowed Marek in the ribs. Marek retaliated by shoving Alex away a step. "Except at the cemetery."

"The cemetery was fucking cold, man," Marek protested. "There were all those dead people under the ground and it was cold and quiet and it wasn't right to be walking all up in their business after dark."

"I don't know," the woman said. "Dead people probably have other things to worry about."

Alex looked to Marek, who rolled his eyes. Yeah, it had been on the dramatic side, but the girl was cute and it was only nine o'clock; Alex didn't plan on going home just yet.

"So," Alex said, ignoring his friend's pointed stare. "You from around here?"

The woman shrugged. "My family comes from out in the valley, but I've been away a while," she said. "I'm Sally."

"Alex, and this is Marek." Alex stepped away before Marek's elbow could find his ribs. "Have you been doing anything else this weekend? Anything… spooky?"

"Not really." Sally tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. Her hair was parted down the middle, no bangs, hippie retro-chique in spite of the rain. "There's nothing to do in this city."

"How about Fright Nights?" Alex suggested. "They're open until one."

"No," Marek said before Sally could reply. "You're not getting me up on that fucking roller coaster, I told you last time."

"You are such a little babushka," Alex told him. "I should get you a little cane, a little apron, you can go trick or treating like a little old granny."

"He thinks he's funny," Marek told Sally over Alex's head.

Sally smiled at the two hesitantly. "Amusement parks aren't all that scary," she said. "Too loud. There's a lot scarier ghost stories about the quiet places."

"Like what?" Alex asked. "I heard one about a ghost hitchhiker up by the university, you hear that one?"

 "Everyone's heard that one," and there was the faintest hint of scorn in Sally's voice. "Anyone ever tell you that the Vogue is haunted?"

Alex had heard that story before, but he only crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Oh yeah?"

Sally nodded solemnly. "I know a lot of stories that most people don't," she said. "Sometimes people will say things when people think they're bragging, but they're not. Sometimes people say things that are interesting, you know."

"And you got some interesting things to say?" Marek asked.

Alex looked at his friend. Something was up with Marek, and Alex didn't understand what it could be. Usually Marek was the one who was up for doing things.

Maybe the cemetery had spooked Marek more than he wanted to let on.

Sally, in the meantime, was meeting Marek's glare. "Did you know that there are ghosts in Stanley Park?" she challenged.

"Like the Babes in the Woods?" Alex asked, perking up. " _Cool._ "

"No, not the boys," Sally said. "Other ghosts, deeper in the forest. They only come out on dark rainy nights once all the tourists are gone." She paused for effect. "Like tonight."

"You know where we can see them?" Alex asked, leaning forward. Sure, this was probably all a big joke, but he and Marek were big guys, and they couldn't get into too much trouble in a park in the middle of a big city, right? "We can catch the bus to the park on Pender."

"It's faster to walk, this time of night," Sally said as she turned on her heel, her long dark hair swinging in a wave across her back. "You coming?"

Alex gave Marek a questioning look. "You know this is fucking stupid, right?" Marek asked in irritation.

"I'm sorry, you have some plans you haven't told me about?" Alex said, walking over the flat bricks of the convention centre plaza. "You want to go home and play Tetris?"

Marek looked up at the inky sky and gave an audible sigh. "Fuck you," he said under his breath. Then he followed Alex. "If we get robbed or something, this is all your fault."

"Whatever," Alex said as he hurried after Sally. "It's Halloween weekend. _Halloweekend_. I want to do something scary."

"You could do your laundry."

Marek knew enough to duck away from his friend for that one.

Ahead of them, Sally walked on.

~~

The rain died down on the walk along the shadowed seawall. Alex kept up most of the conversation, bringing out the ghost stories he could remember. Some of his stories were more fictional than real, but Sally listened to his every word. Marek trailed a step or two behind them, his shoulders hunched against the rising wind.

"So, you got any other good stories?" Alex asked as they turned to head under the traffic overpass. This late at night, the tunnel was a gaping yellow maw in the darkness, all sound muffled by the _thunk-thunk_ of the cars overhead speeding north.

"Not a lot," Sally said vaguely. She was looking down at the path, her hair sliding from behind her ear to hide her face. "Not a lot happens out in the valley. Sometimes there are places where things aren't as… quiet, I guess, as they should be, but if you don't stay around too long nothing happens."

From the far end of the tunnel came a metallic _clunk_. Alex started back, bumping into Marek, but before any of them could speak a bicycle sped into the tunnel, the _clack_ - _clack_ of shifting gears echoing under the sound of the cars above.

"Tunnels do weird things to sound," Marek said, pushing Alex upright.

"Yeah," Alex said, trying to smile. "Hey, so, this place we're going, how far is it?"

"Ten minutes from the tunnel," Sally said. She pushed her sleeve up her right arm, peering at the old watch jangling loose around her wrist. "Still up for this?"

"Of course we are," Alex said, slinging his arm around Marek's shoulders. "Always up for seeing ghosts."

Not that he expected to see anything. They'd go out into the woods, wait around in the dark until they got bored, then they'd head back out to a bar on Davie or something. No big deal.

It wasn't like Alex believed in ghosts.

They emerged from the tunnel onto the path around the lagoon. Sally led the way, their feet crunching over the gravel. Marek was walking a little close to Alex, his arm brushing against Alex's side. "We sure this is a good idea?" Marek asked quietly, as Sally turned down one of the narrower paths, away from any streetlamps. Only the faint light from the city lights reflected off the clouds overhead, illuminating the trees down that path.

"Come on, it's not that big a deal," Alex said. "We'll go, hang out, then go grab a beer."

Marek let out a grumbled curse. "I've seen this horror movie," he muttered. "We're going to die."

"We're not going to die, that's not even a thing," Alex protested. Up ahead, Sally had paused to wait for them, her red sweater nearly black in the shadows. "Come on, it's not even raining any more."

"We're going to die in the woods," Marek said again, but he let Alex pull him along after Sally.

"You got a flashlight or something?" Alex asked Sally as she led them onto the darkened trail.

"We don't need one," she said. "See?"

Indeed, as they walked deeper into the forest, Alex's eyes adjusted to be able to take in the faint gleam of the gravel path. "What, nothing about how ghosts will be frightened off by a flashlight?" he teased.

"Why the hell would a ghost be scared off by light?" Marek asked at Alex's side.

"They are on those ghost hunter shows."

"Those shows are bullshit," Marek said. The faint light was enough for Alex to see that Marek was looking around, the paleness of his face a blurred contrast to the dark of the woods around them.

"But, like, do you think ghosts are real?" Alex pressed. Sally had slowed down to wait for them at a bend in the path. "All _oooh?"_

"I don't know," Marek said, ducking his head. "What about you? You ever see any ghosts?"

"No," Alex said, perhaps a little too quickly.

"You sure?" Marek pressed. "Your sister told me about all that stuff that happened at your grandmother's house back east."

"What stuff?" Sally asked.

"It was nothing," Alex said. The wind was picking up, chill tendrils plucking at him through the trees. "Just sometimes, stuff would move. Mirrors wouldn't work right in one of the bathrooms. And we'd never go down to the basement. Kids' stuff."

"Oh," Sally said.

"Wait," Marek broke in. "How does a mirror not work right?"

Alex shrugged, and it turned into a shudder. "I don't want to talk about it. Can we get going?"

Sally turned to lead them down the path, and after a moment Alex and Marek followed.

"Some places don't act the way they should," Sally said as they turned onto a narrower path, where the trees grew close overhead. Marek stumbled a little, grabbing at Alex's arm for balance. "Back home, there was an old shed on one of the farms up the road. It was always ice cold in there, even in the middle of summer. People say that a hundred years ago, a farmer's wife hanged herself in that shed after her baby fell into the pond and drowned."

"Ugh," Marek said.

"It's just a story. It doesn't mean it really happened like that."

"People shouldn't tell stories like that." Marek stopped walking. There was a brief rustling in the trees, then suddenly a sharp _whhooo whhhoooo_ sounded right over their heads.

Alex nearly jumped out of his skin, while Marek ducked and fell onto the path. Sally didn't move. "It's just an owl," Alex said, his heart beating wildly in his throat. "Just an owl. There's lots of them around here."

Marek got to his feet, wiping at his knees. "I think we should maybe cash this one in," he said, voice faint. "I don't think we're allowed to be in the park this late, anyway."

"You want to head back?" Alex asked, surprised. Normally Marek was the one to push things out further than the others. "Now?"

"We should go grab a beer, see if anyone's setting off fireworks on the beach." Marek took a step back. "There's no such thing as ghosts, anyway."

Another owl hooted overhead. "We're almost there," Sally said. A gust of wind whipped down the path, sending wet leaves scurrying. "I'm not going back."

"Good for you." Marek turned to Alex. "Dude, come on."

Alex hesitated. "It's just another ten minutes," he said. "Twenty, tops. I'll go with you then."

Marek shook his head, an indistinct blur of grey and black under the overhanging trees. "I can't do it, man." He started backing up. "You do you, but I'm out."

"Marek, come on," Alex called, but his friend had turned and was walking slowly back down the trail, nothing more than a dark shape against the darker backdrop of the forest. "You're missing out!"

Marek did not come back.

"Go after your friend if you want to," Sally said after a minute. "I'm going on."

Alex crossed his arms over his chest, a shiver running down his spine. With Marek gone, things were colder, the dark pressing in just a little more. It wasn't a big deal, Alex told himself firmly. He was only fifteen minutes from one of the busiest streets in town, it wasn't like he was lost in the middle of nowhere.

"I'm going," Sally repeated.

Alex shook his head. "Yeah, okay," he said. "Let's just do this, all right?"

He followed Sally down the path, little more than a space between the trees here. His footsteps sounded loud in this sudden forest stillness, the echo from shifting gravel under his feet vibrating on the back of his tongue. The air was empty here in between the trees, like it got sometimes, like it had gotten in that bathroom in his grandmother's house when he tried to avoid looking in the mirror, like it got at the gas station on the way to Revelstoke with its shuttered back buildings and old dismantled cars long since cannibalized.

He wished that he had gone back into the city with Marek.

"Down here," Sally called over her shoulder, moving off the path between two trees so fast that Alex almost lost her. He scrambled to follow, nearly tripping down the incline. This was so stupid. He was going to trip and break his leg and this complete stranger was going to leave him in the woods and Marek was never going to let him hear the end of it.

But he didn't trip, he didn't fall, and in short order Sally stopped beside the trunk of a massive tree.

"Here," Sally said, and sat down.

Alex crept forward and sat, the ground dry from the rainfall under the sheltering boughs of the cedar. "This is where the ghosts are?" he asked when he had regained his breath.

"Sometimes." Sally leaned back against the tree trunk, so still that Alex had a hard time picking her out against the darkness.

"You've been here before, right?"

"Once." Sally let out a long breath like a sigh. Overhead, the tree's branches creaked in the wind, a soft _err-err_ in the night. "No one else ever comes here."

"We're here," Alex pointed out.

Sally said nothing.

"And someone must have come here," Alex went on, staring so hard into the darkness that spots swam in front of his eyes. "Someone had to have come here to show you the way, right?"

Silence.

"Sally?"

No movement, no sound. Alex's heart began to beat faster, the air a little thin.

"Come on, this isn't funny."

Still nothing. Alex pulled his phone out of his pocket, fumbled with it to tap the little flashlight icon to shine light around him.

There was nobody there.

"Sally?" Alex demanded, shooting to his feet. His foot caught on a root and he stumbled, dropping his phone.

From the air above him came a loud sudden _whhhoooo_ , and that was it. Alex took off, running back in the direction they'd come. The ground gave way as he tried to climb the slope, throwing him down and to the side, pulling the phone from his hand as he fell. After a moment, he slammed against a large boulder, knocking the breath out of him.

Gasping, Alex tried to stand, but his foot slipped over some moss, landing with a dry snap on something too brittle to be wood. His hand touched something wet and fibrous, half-buried in the tangled undergrowth. His phone cast only a faint sliver of light as Alex pulled an old watch caught in a fold of red fabric out from under the rock.

A puff of warm air ghosted over the back of Alex's neck and he let out a screech, dropping the fabric to claw his way up the slope to the trail, grabbing at his phone as he went. When he got to solid ground again, he ran as fast as he could.

He didn't look back.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this last year for a creative writing course, and wanted to share it here. All the ghost stories told herein (with the exception of Sally's) in and around Vancouver are real - I'll be sharing some of those stories over on my tumblr in my [ghost story tag](https://mhalachai.tumblr.com/tagged/ghost-story).
> 
> Thanks for reading.


End file.
